DePaul University
10-13, 0-1
Butler
15-7, 3-0
DePaul Drops Home Opener to Butler
3/19/2022 4:44:00 PM | SOFTBALL
Meyer, Polucha hit home runs in 6-5 setback
CHICAGO — DePaul dropped its home opener 6-5 against Butler on Saturday afternoon at Cacciatore Stadium in the first of a three-game series with the Bulldogs.
Seven different Blue Demons tallied at least one hit with Tori Meyer and Kate Polucha each sending a home run over the wall and driving in two runs apiece. Nicole Sullivan went three-for-four with three hits including a double.
Natalie Halvorson fell to 4-5 in the circle in 5.1 innings pitched. Halvorson surrender four earned runs while striking out a trio of batters. Sarah Lehman pitched 1.2 innings in relief, allowing just one hit while freezing three.
Butler (15-7, 3-0 BIG EAST) got on board in the top of the second with a pair of runs after runners on second and third crossed home on a DePaul throwing error.
DePaul (10-13, 0-1) responded in the fourth inning to tie things up at two apiece. Nicole Sullivan singled to center before Kate Polucha sent a home run over the left field wall to plate Sullivan. Wohlers reached on a single to center field but consecutive fly outs to right field limited the scoring.
The Blue Demons took the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning after Meyer recorded her second home run of the season to score Hilger and put DePaul on top 4-2. Following the long ball, Sullivan singled and advanced to third on a pair of passed balls. Kate Polucha drew a walk and stole second to put a pair of runners in scoring positions.
The Bulldogs responded with a leadoff home run in the sixth to cut the deficit to one before a trio of runs scored on a double to reclaim the lead 6-4.
Looking for a rally, DePaul scored a run in the sixth on a Maranda Gutierrez RBI single to score Addison Talbot and come within one. The seventh inning saw a leadoff double from Brooke Johnson but was not advanced.
DePaul and Butler will close out the conference series on Sunday, March 20 with a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. Live streaming of both contests is available on FloSports.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: GRAVES, Alyssa (5-3)
L: Halvorson, Natalie (4-5)
Batting:
2B: FEY, Lauren 1 ; O'RILLEY, Teagan 1
HR: GRIMAN, Mackenzie 1
RBI: FEY, Lauren 3 ; GRIMAN, Mackenzie 1 ; AVERY, Bri 2
SH: FEY, Lauren 1 ; BOYER, Ellie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: GRIMAN, Mackenzie 1 ; CARTER, Sydney 1 ; MOORE, Maddie 2 ; PERRELLE, Emily 1 ; GROSS, Kaylee 1
HBP: MOORE, Maddie 2
Batting:
2B: Johnson, Brooke 1 ; Sullivan, Nicole 1
HR: Meyer, Tori 1 ; Polucha, Kate 1
RBI: Gutierrez, Maranda 1 ; Meyer, Tori 2 ; Polucha, Kate 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Hilger, Skylor 1 ; Meyer, Tori 1 ; Sullivan, Nicole 1 ; Polucha, Kate 1 ; Talbot, Addison 1
SB: Hilger, Skylor 1 ; Polucha, Kate 1
HBP: Gutierrez, Maranda 1
